surf's up in campus ministry

Thursday, June 18, 2020

I love summer. I love the was the sun feels on my face when I'm outside. I love the feeling of jumping in a pool in the heart of the day. I love the cookouts, late night ice cream runs. People's schedule slow down and you just have time to be with each other. With COVID, some of these things are harder than others, but I am still finding joy in the sweet things in life. 
Last month, our students wrapped up their school work and officially went on summer break. In a weird way, it seems like they have been in summer school for 3 months now with COVID. I don't have many pictures due to the fact that I meet with all my people over the phone or zoom now but I did want to share about two girls I had the chance to meet with this past year! 

This past month both Rebecca and Cathryn finished FOJ! Getting to study the Bible with these girls has been so sweet. They both grew up in church and showed a lot of leadership potential when they first came into the ministry. 
I've seen Rebecca grow out of her fears throughout our time together this past school year. I challenged her to grow in boldness and she really took that challenge and ran with it. She started having harder conversations with her friends, and deeply desired to continually point them to the cross. She has pushed herself to get over her fears of talking in front of people. Watching her push herself to do things that are uncomfortable to her has really ministered to me. She loves God and loves people. I'm so proud of her. 

When I first met Cathryn I was so impressed by the way she carried herself. She was engaging in conversation and excited to ask questions. Throughout the year I have watcher her prayerfully consider different things in her life and how she can bring glory to God. She was someone who was willing to deny herself and pick up her cross to honor God. During one of our times together in quarantine she shared with me how she was praying we would be able to go back to school because she couldn't wait to serve the UTD campus. She was so genuine in her heart to welcome future students and invite them in on this good gift God has given her! She also loves God and loves people and I am so proud of her. 
I wanted to share some about these girls with y'all because their stories are so exciting to me. They want the people around them to love God deeply. They along with some other really neat freshmen will walk back on the UTD campus in August expectant of what God is going to do in their life. That is good news! God is really working in their lives. They have been so faithful during COVID to our ministry and I'm excited for them to get to love up and share the gospel with UTD. 

What does campus ministry look like in the summer you may ask, well I am still meeting with students and we are doing live streaming our service Thursday nights. We recently started a book club to discuss the roles of a pastor. A good chunk of my time is spent fundraising for this upcoming school year. I am currently 68% fundraised for the year! I have been asking people to consider partnering with me like you have and if 10 people at $100 a month I will be able to reach my goal! Please be praying that God will put people in my life who are excited about campus ministry. If you know anyone who would be interested please let me know! I am so thankful for your continued prayers and support.
Because of our support, I was able to be in Cathryn and Rebecca's lives. While there was nothing special about me that changed their lives, I was a just a disciple on the campus that just listened to God and pointed them to the cross. 
 I am excited to continue to get to be apart of what God is doing at UTD!  



- Please be praying for our students. We are still doing online streaming and zoom groups and our numbers have dropped some. 
- Please be praying for the girls I meet with. Some of them are doing well and are really pursuing Jesus and community and some of them are pulling away from us and the rest of the community. 
- Please be praying for UTD and them planning for the upcoming school year. I couldn't even imagine having to make some of these choices. I so want to go back to campus and have everything be "normal" but I know we're not where we were and I want to be a good steward of that. 
- Pray for FOCUS as we are starting to try to get even more creative with ways to engage our students. Please be praying that we will do what is best for our students not just physically during this time of being separated but spiritually. 

2 comments

  1. "I love summer. I love the was the sun feels on my face when I'm outside. I love the feeling of jumping in a pool in the heart of the day. I love the cookouts, late night ice cream runs. People's schedule slow down and you just have time to be with each other. With COVID, some of these things are harder than others, but I am still finding joy in the sweet things in life."

    Your updates are always so heartwarming. <3

    ReplyDelete